Reflexion, A Spiritual Community

A couple weeks ago someone told me, “Your next series of talks should be about The Sermon On the Mount” - that title has a pleasant ring to it, doesn’t it? • isn’t that where Jesus talks about birds and lilies? Love your enemies? Do not judge? • it’s like a friend has invited us on an outing: “Hey, go with us to the park for a picnic. We’re going to sing our favorite worship choruses, then share o...

The prophetic ministry of Elijah provides one of the most entertaining stories in all the Bible. When it comes to phenomenal miracles, Elijah’s only rival would be Moses. His spiritual stature as a man of God is equal to the greatest heroes in scripture, and yet St. James wrote, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours” (Jas. 5:17). Like us, Elijah could be frightened, discouraged, and ready to g...

Psalm 3 is the most loved, most quoted, and best known of all Psalms There are lots of reasons for this. It’s short – just six verses. But though it’s so short it’s incredibly deep. It’s simple – easy to understand.  The Lord, the shepherd is God.  I am the sheep. I get it! And there is something uniquely encouraging, comforting, and empowering about this Psalm. So, this morning, I’d like to give...

 This first sentence of 2 Kings is an odd way to begin a new chapter. The transition from the previous book to this one could have been much smoother. For instance, the last lines of 1 Kings provide all the explanation we need for this new episode: Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria . . . and he reigned for two years. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and wal...

 King Ahab left the battlefield, victorious over the Syrians, but he arrived home moody and sullen . In theory, there’s no reason for kings to be “moody and sullen.” If they are troubled, they have counselors. If they feel sad, they have jesters. If they need comfort, the priest is always on call. Having the luxuries afforded them by wealth and power, one imagines they could avoid ever being moody...

 Today’s episode requires an explanation, because my plan was to skip this chapter. For the past seven weeks we’ve been immersed in the story of Elijah, but for some reason he does not appear here; not even his name is mentioned. But that is one of the curiosities in this episode that interests me. There are still gifted seers through whom God delivers messages to King Ahab, and these three fill t...

 The Elijah with whom we spent time in the previous chapter is hardly recognizable in this episode. He is no longer the prophet who lost heart and had been wallowing in defeat, sulking in a cave. He was transformed. Once again he is on the move, and you would have had to jog to keep pace with his long, rapid strides. Every time his foot hit the ground, it raised a small, meaningful dust cloud. He...

 Elijah was excited–an energetic excited–an excited he had not allowed himself to indulge until now. The tide was turning. The entire crowd witnessed God’s answer from heaven. They had been won over. They had chanted, “Yehovah, he is God! Yehovah, he is God!” The king was there too. He saw it for himself. Now he also knew who was the real God. Running off to Jezreel was a bold move for Elijah. Kin...

 Elijah found King Ahab sitting off by himself still as a statue, staring into nothing, and his face coated in confusion. Ahab wondered, “What just happened? How could it have happened?” His feud with Elijah had ended suddenly in a phenomenon of fire and blood. His army of prophets failed to rouse their Bah-al god, while from the sky Yehovah answered Elijah with a spectacle never before seen. The...

 There must have been court officials who wished they could restrain King Ahab’s poor decisions and thoughtless actions. But those with enough skill in diplomacy to hold a position in the royal court also had enough sense to value their lives. Ahab was too full of himself to take advise from anyone else, let alone, take orders. However, there was that one exception. From the time Elijah first set...

 The village where Elijah had been living was on the Mediterranean coast, so I find it easy to imagine him walking the shoreline, allowing the onshore breeze to be refreshed. He listens to the rhythm of the waves and the squawking seagulls, and opens his heart to receive the moment. Then, hearing something else, he pauses, and shading his eyes from the glare of the sun’s bright reflection glancing...

 Picking up from last week, directed by the word of Yehovah, Elijah came to the home of a widow in Sidon, north of Israel’s border. She had helped Elijah when he was hungry and homeless. She let him stay in her home, in the small room upstairs. She hid him from King Ahab’s spies. And, now, this! Her son was struck down with an illness. Was this the reward for her hospitality and kindness. Who is s...

A crooked king, a wicked queen, and a foreign god. You know this is going to be a great story. That’s because in literature (and storytelling), evil is more entertaining than good. We can predict a good person’s actions–they will be honest, kind, generous, and always choose what is right. The villains, however, are full of surprises. And they typically create the conflict that the heroes must over...

This week a nearby church hosted a Vacation Bible School My fourteen-year-old granddaughter, Adrianna, volunteered to help out - on Friday, a friend sent me a video that she filmed the day before • when I watched it, there was Adrianna on a stage in front of a crowd of kids • she had a Bible in her hand, and from it she read a couple verses from the Psalms ◦ then she gave a brief talk, encouraging...

In this final chapter we come to the end of the vision To me, it feels like waking up from a dream - just before I woke up yesterday morning, I was enjoying a pleasant dream • I heard someone call me, and I was immediately awake ◦ the house was completely silent ◦ I then realized it was my dad’s voice in the dream that called my name • for me, this chapter unfolds in the same sort of fuzzy way - f...

Once again, John begins to describe an event with “I saw” We are reminded that this entire book is a mystical vision and uses the strange language of images and symbols - however, we could be tempted to read last two chapters differently, • as if John were describing events in a literal future • but when, once again, he says “I saw,” we know this is the same as the rest of the book - so we turn ou...

When Jesus told the parable of the Prodigal Son, He did not expect anyone to come to him afterward and say, - “Lord, I’d like to visit that family. Where do where they live?” • it was just a story – a made-up story meant to make a point • if all the crowd heard was a heart-warming story, they missed the point - here in Revelation 19, John describes a vision – Satan is imprisoned • then, after 1,00...

This is a fascinating chapter It is complex, and it is put together well - the chapter divides into two parts: • in the first half, heaven reverberates with praise • in the second half, Jesus leads heaven’s army in a final battle

 I’m going to begin with a quote by St. Augustine In The City of God he traces two cities through world history Augustine, “Accordingly, two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly [city] by the love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly [city] by the love of God, even to the contempt of self. The former, in a word, glories in itself, the latter in the Lord.” - John, the vis...

 A few years ago, Barry Liesch, a professor at Biola-Talbot University, - wrote an article on worship in the book of Revelation • he suggested that by using its examples of form, content, and splendor, ◦ we might enjoy a more meaningful, intense, and richer worship experience • worship here on earth is already a participation in heaven’s worship ◦ our prayers are mixed with the incense that burns...

I’ve been feeling that talking about the book of Revelation Is like trying to practice dream interpretation  - how do I make sense out of all these foreign signs and symbols? - of course, the bigger question is: what is God’s Spirit trying to communicate to us?

 I think most anyone reading Revelation sees that it takes a turn in chapter 13 What stays the same: the dragon (Satan) is still here - at least at the start – and he’s continuing his fight against God What changes: the dragon, after being defeated three times in the previous chapter - now scores a significant victory - also, prior to this, his battle has been in the religion arena • he tried to s...

Yesterday Barb asked me, “Are you still in Revelation?” In answered with a weary, “Yes” She said, “Oh.” then added, “You’ll probably be in Revelation till the end of the world” One of the challenges of this mystical book is distraction - the shifting scenes, outrageous creatures, and sudden surprises pull my thoughts in different directions • if I blink, my mind turns a corner and I’m on the wrong...

 We have arrived at the heart of Revelation  Not only the middle of the book, but its central message - I’m going to take you backstage and show you my work room • the Bible is many books and among them, different writing styles ◦ there are books of history (written more or less like storytelling), poetry, legal codes, prophetic writings, wise sayings, and letters ◦ each literary style has its own...